I'd appreciate your comments on this, and whether you think I have a leg to stand on.

In short, I reserved a flight on aa.com, but it came back with fare rules that wouldn't let me change the return date, so I rang AA UK central reservations and they upgraded it for an extra £22 to a ticket that I could change for £100.

Now, AA are claiming that I bought a consolidator ticket that's ineligible for miles or status.

Is this right? I mean,

(a) I was never told that by upgrading my ticket it would no longer attract miles or status.

(b) I didn't even know it was possible to buy consolidator fares from the own airline's central reservations - and I certainly wasn't told it was a consolidator fare, nor the booking class.

Here's the conversation with AAdvantage customer service so far. Do you think I'm right in this? This should have been the trip that requalified me for platinum.

Cheers

kennyp


Me:

Hi. My recent transatlantic flights have not yet credited my account, although an intermediate segment has. Can you look into this? Record locator ******. It was originally reserved on AA.COM, then I rang AA UK reservations to upgrade it to a ticket I could change - I don't know if this is why it's taking so long. Thanks, kennyp


AA:

Dear kennyp,

Thank you for visiting the American Airlines Web site and for your recent e-mail to AAdvantage Customer Service.

Certain airline tickets are not eligible for earning mileage credit. These include AAdvantage awards and promotional tickets, reduced rate and unpublished fare tickets, and charter flight and consolidation tickets. Additionally, all tickets purchased on Priceline.com and Hotwire.com are not eligible for mileage credit, as well as some tickets purchased on Expedia.com and through Travelocity. We are unable to credit your account as requested since the type of fare and/or ticket used is ineligible.

You may accrue mileage only for purchased, eligible, published fare tickets on American Airlines, American Eagle and the many other carriers that participate in the AAdvantage program. You also earn miles for eligible transactions with other AAdvantage participants.

I'm sorry my response couldn't be more positive. We value your loyalty and are eager to continue the beneficial relationship we have enjoyed thus far. Thank you for your understanding.

Regards,

AAdvantage Customer Service


Me:

Hi,

> Certain airline tickets are not eligible for earning mileage credit.

The ticket was reserved on aa.com, upgraded by American Airlines UK telesales, and paid for at the American Airlines ticket desk at Gatwick Airport. This ticket could not be more American Airlines if it tried.

> These include AAdvantage awards

No.

> and promotional tickets,

No.

> reduced rate

No.

> and unpublished fare tickets

No.

> and charter flight

No.

> and consolidation tickets.

No.

> Additionally, all tickets
> purchased on Priceline.com and Hotwire.com are not eligible
> for mileage credit, as well as some tickets purchased on
> Expedia.com and through Travelocity.

None of those either.

> We are unable to credit
> your account as requested since the type of fare and/or
> ticket used is ineligible.

How can that possibly be the case? I buy a ticket directly from American Airlines and you tell me it's ineligible for miles? A ticket I had UPGRADED from the aa.com fare because I wanted to be able to PAY YOU EXTRA to change the return date, and that functionality is unavailable from your website?

If I wanted a fare that didn't award miles and status, I would have gone to ebookers.com or airnet.co.uk and bought a consolidator fare for £100 less and travelled on a full-service airline such as BA or Virgin - take it from me, those fares were there, I checked. I paid extra directly to AA in order to get miles and status. I was never told at any point that by UPGRADING and PAYING MORE FOR my fare I could somehow become ineligible for mileage - it doesn't make any sense, it is inconceivable that by buying a fare direct from AA that it could be ineligible.

Please credit me at once.

Thanks

kennyp


AA:

Dear pkenny [they even failed to get my name right this time],

Thank you for responding back. You were in a fare that does not earn miles for transatlantic travel. Your segment between SNA and JFK was in the same fare and did earn miles.

Thank you for contacting us regarding this matter. If you have any other AAdvantage issues or questions, do not hesitate to contact us again.

Regards,

AAdvantage Customer Service
American Airlines


Me:

This response is completely unacceptable.

How do I take this further?


AA:

Dear kennyp,

Your most recent email has been referred to me for supervisor follow up. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

I've confirmed that the ticket that you recently purchased was a discounted consolidator fare; therefore, it is not eligible for mileage credit on transatlantic segments. Unfortunately, I must once again decline your request for mileage credit. I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to respond.

Regards,

Supervisor on Duty
AAdvantage Customer Service
American Airlines


Me:

Dear Mr Supervisor

How can I possibly have been sold a "discounted consolidator fare" by American Airlines' own central reservations? The fare you sold me was not a discount - it was MORE EXPENSIVE than the aa.com web fare - if it was a consolidator fare it would have been CHEAPER than buying from the airline directly. I know what consolidator fares are, and I avoid them whilst building status and miles with an airline - that's why I always buy directly from you. Usually online, but in this case aa.com did not give me a flight I could change, so I got AA central reservations to upgrade it to a MORE EXPENSIVE fare.

I chose you solely based on miles and status - I could have saved £100 using a consolidator (and flown on an airline that doesn't charge $5 for a beer), but I valued the 18,000 miles and the associated status and earned upgrades more than this.

I should not have to repeat this information, but here again are the facts:

- Your central reservations sold me a more expensive ticket upgraded from a qualifying aa.com fare, on the same record locator code.
- Your agent never mentioned the possibility that this fare wouldn't get miles or status.

These facts alone are enough to successfully sue you in the British small claims court for $686.75 plus costs, representing the cost of 18,000 miles at $508.75 (the closest multiple that I can purchase from your website to the 17,816 you owe me), plus 89% of the $200 cost of four earned upgrades i.e. $178). I will happily take this all the way if you force me to, but by doing so then obviously you'll lose many multiples of that in the future - a quick report in Microsoft Money reveals a personal spend of almost $5,000 with you since I joined AAdvantage - and it's only this year I've actively put business your way instead of Continental's. Indeed for the first time this year I have booked my transatlantic travel this weekend on Virgin Atlantic instead of you, in disgust at your colleague's refusal to attend to your error that is NOT MY FAULT BY ANY INTERPRETATION.

How can anyone attempt to build loyalty to an airline that does nothing but nickel-and-dime its platinum members and revel in catching them out in small print they were never told even existed? How can that be a way to treat your customers? This is not customer service - this is customer violation. You have stretched my loyalty to breaking point.

Take this to the top. If they still refuse to credit me what I am due, give me details of where in the UK I should serve legal documents.

Yours sincerely

kennyp